continued  Hebert was cast as Valjean prior to May auditions because the producers knew Valjean was Hebert’s dream role. The rest of the cast, over 30 children and adults, were chosen to fit with the producers’ vision of Hebert as lead, Hebert said.

Although Hebert performed in many shows during his adolescent and college years, he has not performed in a production since he became a father more than 12 years ago. Hebert has been the musical producer of multiple shows in the time he was not on stage, but was drawn back to the stage for "Les Misérables" because of Valjean's songs and captivating personality. Valjean was the dream role that came at a great time with the best location and fantastic production team, he said.

“I think people that haven’t been to a town of Manlius show for a few years might not realize how [high] production value is,” Hebert said. “We have all of our sets as projections, we have a full pit orchestra, processional sound— it’s going to be a very high end performance. We’ve got incredible voices in the cast and everyone fits their parts so well. I’m very excited.”

This year, the town of Manlius has added a modernized twist to the set by having all of its scenery projected from a projector hanging above the actors and onto a white screen set up behind the actors on the stage, producer Eric Feola said.

“The scenery will look very versatile,” Feola said. “It’s going to be a powerpoint of paintings that will then be projected onto a backdrop. The best part about [the projection idea] is that you hang [the backdrop] once and then you’re done. Every scene is different and you’re not paying for big set changes; it’s a lot cheaper. The paintings are based off of a book of Hugo’s paintings. The paintings are recreated in the style of the French Revolution and in the style for the setting of 'Les Misérables.'”